"Six months ago, everyone was talking about MCPs. And I was like, screw MCPs. Every MCP would be better as a CLI."

— Peter Steinberger, Founder of OpenClaw Watch on YouTube (~2:39:00) | Lex Fridman Podcast #491

Klarna CLI

Production-ready command-line interface for the Klarna Payments API V1. Built with Commander.js for developers who prefer the power and simplicity of CLI tools over MCP servers.

⚠️ Unofficial CLI - This tool is not officially sponsored, endorsed, or maintained by Klarna. It is an independent project built on the public Klarna API. Official site: https://www.klarna.com | API docs: https://docs.klarna.com/api/

Why CLI > MCP

Simplicity & Direct Control

• No Server Overhead: Direct API calls without maintaining a persistent server process
• Zero Configuration: Just set credentials and start making API calls
• Shell Integration: Pipe, redirect, and compose with standard Unix tools
• Git-Friendly: Command history and scripts version control beautifully

Performance & Reliability

• Instant Startup: No server boot time or connection handshakes
• Stateless: Each command is independent, no session state to manage
• Lightweight: Pure Node.js with minimal dependencies
• Predictable: Same inputs always produce same outputs

Developer Experience

• Scriptable: Write bash scripts for complex workflows
• Composable: Chain with jq, grep, awk for powerful data processing
• Debuggable: Clear error messages and exit codes
• Portable: Works anywhere Node.js runs, no additional infrastructure

AI Agent Integration

• Deterministic: AI agents get consistent, structured output
• Error Handling: Proper exit codes for easy success/failure detection
• JSON Output: Machine-readable responses for parsing
• Documentation: Clear help text and examples for LLM context

Installation

Global Installation

npm install -g @ktmcp-cli/klarna

Local Installation

npm install @ktmcp-cli/klarna
npx klarna --help

From Source

git clone <repository>
cd klarna-cli
npm install
npm link

Configuration

Environment Variables

export KLARNA_USERNAME="your_username"
export KLARNA_PASSWORD="your_password"
export KLARNA_REGION="eu"  # or na, oc
export KLARNA_API_URL="https://api.klarna.com"
export KLARNA_TIMEOUT="30000"
export KLARNA_VERBOSE="false"

Using .env File

Create a .env file in your project:

KLARNA_USERNAME=your_username
KLARNA_PASSWORD=your_password
KLARNA_REGION=eu

Using CLI Config

# Set credentials
klarna config set username YOUR_USERNAME
klarna config set password YOUR_PASSWORD
klarna config set region eu

# View current config
klarna config show

# Reset to defaults
klarna config reset

Configuration is stored in ~/.klarna/config.json

API Regions

• eu: Europe (https://api.klarna.com) - Default
• na: North America (https://api-na.klarna.com)
• oc: Oceania (https://api-oc.klarna.com)

Usage

Sessions

Create a Session

# From JSON string
klarna sessions create --data '{
  "order_amount": 10000,
  "purchase_country": "US",
  "purchase_currency": "USD",
  "order_lines": [{
    "name": "Red T-Shirt",
    "quantity": 1,
    "unit_price": 10000,
    "total_amount": 10000
  }]
}'

# From file
klarna sessions create --file session.json

# With custom region
klarna sessions create --file session.json --region na

# Verbose output
klarna sessions create --file session.json -v

Get Session Details

klarna sessions get SESSION_ID

# With verbose output
klarna sessions get SESSION_ID -v

Update Session

klarna sessions update SESSION_ID --data '{
  "order_amount": 15000,
  "order_lines": [...]
}'

# From file
klarna sessions update SESSION_ID --file updated-session.json

Orders

Create Order from Authorization

klarna orders create AUTH_TOKEN --data '{
  "order_amount": 10000,
  "purchase_country": "US",
  "purchase_currency": "USD",
  "order_lines": [...]
}'

# From file
klarna orders create AUTH_TOKEN --file order.json

Authorizations

Cancel Authorization

klarna authorizations cancel AUTH_TOKEN

Generate Customer Token

klarna authorizations customer-token AUTH_TOKEN

# With additional data
klarna authorizations customer-token AUTH_TOKEN --data '{
  "purchase_country": "US",
  "purchase_currency": "USD"
}'

Examples

Complete Payment Flow

# 1. Create a session
SESSION_RESPONSE=$(klarna sessions create --file session.json)
SESSION_ID=$(echo $SESSION_RESPONSE | jq -r '.session_id')

# 2. Customer completes payment (happens in your frontend)
# You receive an authorization token

# 3. Create order from authorization
klarna orders create $AUTH_TOKEN --file order.json

# 4. If needed, cancel authorization
klarna authorizations cancel $AUTH_TOKEN

Using with jq for JSON Processing

# Extract specific fields
klarna sessions get $SESSION_ID | jq '.client_token'

# Create session and extract session_id
klarna sessions create --file session.json | jq -r '.session_id' > session_id.txt

# Pipe to file
klarna sessions get $SESSION_ID > session_details.json

Batch Processing

# Process multiple sessions
for session_id in $(cat session_ids.txt); do
  klarna sessions get $session_id >> all_sessions.json
done

# Create orders from multiple auth tokens
while read auth_token; do
  klarna orders create $auth_token --file order_template.json
done < auth_tokens.txt

Error Handling in Scripts

#!/bin/bash

if klarna sessions create --file session.json; then
  echo "Session created successfully"
  exit 0
else
  echo "Failed to create session"
  exit 1
fi

Sample JSON Files

session.json

{
  "order_amount": 10000,
  "purchase_country": "US",
  "purchase_currency": "USD",
  "order_lines": [
    {
      "type": "physical",
      "name": "Red T-Shirt",
      "quantity": 1,
      "unit_price": 10000,
      "tax_rate": 0,
      "total_amount": 10000,
      "total_tax_amount": 0
    }
  ],
  "billing_address": {
    "given_name": "John",
    "family_name": "Doe",
    "email": "john@example.com",
    "street_address": "123 Main St",
    "postal_code": "12345",
    "city": "New York",
    "region": "NY",
    "phone": "+15551234567",
    "country": "US"
  }
}

order.json

{
  "order_amount": 10000,
  "purchase_country": "US",
  "purchase_currency": "USD",
  "order_lines": [
    {
      "type": "physical",
      "name": "Red T-Shirt",
      "quantity": 1,
      "unit_price": 10000,
      "tax_rate": 0,
      "total_amount": 10000,
      "total_tax_amount": 0
    }
  ],
  "merchant_urls": {
    "confirmation": "https://example.com/confirmation",
    "authorization": "https://example.com/authorization"
  }
}

Exit Codes

• 0: Success
• 1: Error (API error, validation error, or runtime error)

Error Messages

The CLI provides clear error messages:

• Missing credentials
• Invalid JSON
• API errors with status codes
• Missing required fields
• Network errors

Authentication

Klarna Payments API uses HTTP Basic Authentication. Provide credentials via:

1. Environment variables (recommended for production)
2. Config file (~/.klarna/config.json)
3. Command-line options (not recommended, credentials visible in shell history)

# Not recommended (visible in shell history)
klarna sessions create --username USER --password PASS --file session.json

API Response Format

All commands return JSON responses from the Klarna API or formatted error messages:

Success Response

{
  "session_id": "abc-123-def-456",
  "client_token": "token_value",
  "order_amount": 10000,
  ...
}

Error Response

✗ Failed to create session (400)
Constraint violation: Invalid purchase_country

Development

Run Tests

npm test

Run Locally

node bin/klarna.js --help

Debug Mode

export KLARNA_VERBOSE=true
klarna sessions create --file session.json

Troubleshooting

Authentication Errors

Error: Authentication credentials not found

Solution: Set KLARNA_USERNAME and KLARNA_PASSWORD environment variables or use klarna config set

Invalid JSON

Error: Unexpected token in JSON

Solution: Validate your JSON with jq or an online validator

Timeout Errors

Error: No response from server

Solution: Increase timeout with klarna config set timeout 60000 or check network connectivity

Region Issues

Error: Failed to create session (403)

Solution: Verify you're using the correct region for your account (--region eu/na/oc)

API Documentation

• Klarna Payments API
• API Reference
• Authentication

Support

• GitHub Issues: [Report bugs or request features]
• Documentation: See AGENT.md for AI agent integration
• OpenClaw Integration: See OPENCLAW.md

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please read the contributing guidelines before submitting PRs.

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Built with Commander.js • Powered by Klarna Payments API V1